Airline Hopes Event Flights Take Wing

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While many people have been wowed by watching TED talks online, Delta Air Lines Inc.’s L.A. team made it easier for some area business leaders to be dazzled in person at this year’s five-day conference in Vancouver, British Columbia.

As part of its longtime sponsorship deal with New York’s TED Conferences, Delta arranged for an invite-only charter flight Feb. 14 from Los Angeles to Vancouver for VIP guests to attend TED2016.

Delta developed an invitation list in conjunction with TED and guests were treated to expedited security, a preflight brunch and other on-board perks. What’s more, the guests rode for free.

To further spread its wings among executives in entertainment, tech and other creative industries, the airline launched a program last year called Delta Festival Shuttle to transport L.A. professionals to such events as the Sundance Film Festival and South by Southwest. Those guests, however, had to pay for their flight tickets. United Talent Agency of Beverly Hills helped Delta create the list of invitees.

“We conceived this to engage leaders of key L.A. business sectors,” said Ranjan Goswami, Delta’s vice president of West Coast sales. “Rather than put up a booth at a festival, we provide a great context for a conversation – during an actual flight – about ways we can innovate business travel with these leaders. It is also an opportunity for us to showcase Delta has invested heavily in the L.A. market.”

The “pilot” program was successful enough that its continuation next year has been cleared for takeoff, and a Delta Festival Shuttle is scheduled next month for South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.

– Elyse Glickman

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